McDonald’s Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:MCD)

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors bought 53,490 call options on the company. This is an increase of 77% compared to the typical daily volume of 30,291 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCD. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Argus upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $727,260.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at $900,550. The trade was a 44.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $446,721.60. This represents a 48.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,597 shares of company stock valued at $10,702,754 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded up $1.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $296.76. The stock had a trading volume of 761,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,482,230. McDonald’s has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90. The stock has a market cap of $212.66 billion, a PE ratio of 25.91, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $299.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $278.78.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 58.65%.

About McDonald’s

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.